Opabinia

Another Burgess Shale monstrosity, this is Opabinia, a five-eyed, pincer-snouted sea creature which lived long ago and may or may not have contributed to the phyla of today.






An artist's conception of Opabinia.

Nun Progression

This is a series of clay objects made from a mold of a plaster statue of a nun with a bowtie. The clay wasn't thick enough to capture the detail for the object on the left, but I kept it for its blank larval countenance.











The nun with a bowtie is Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church.

Bill the Cat Column

This is an early Cat Column sculpture that was weighted incorrectly and couldn't stand up on its own. I've since adapted it as a garden decoration.

Pikaia the Burgess Shale Chordate

This is a new sculpture of Pikaia, the Burgess Shale chordate, to replace the one I sold. It was placed too close to one of supports used to layer the kiln shelves and the glaze stuck to the support. It's hard to see in the photo, but it's a rough, unglazed lump on the tail.

Chiqui

This was an attempt to memorialize my recently deceased dog Chiqui. I'm not used to sculpting realistic objects. The general shape of the muzzle is wrong and the nose is too bulbous. I also used red iron oxide for the darker coloring and I wish I had applied a much lighter coat or chosen a glaze instead. It came out too dark and the texture is rough and unpleasant.

IG-88 Dreidel

After seeing the IG-88 menorah, George said, "that's as good as Aaron's Dengar dreidel!"

It seemed like a great idea and I planned a whole series of ESB bounty hunter dreidels. While I waited for the molds of the other bounty hunters' heads to get fired, I made a prototype with IG-88.

I'm not entirely happy with it because it was marred during the glazing process. The glazed part of the clay can't touch the kiln shelf, so it has to be propped up on some metal spikes and they damaged the piece on the shin side when I removed them.

Also, it doesn't really spin very well and will probably break if I continue to test it.

Caterpillar Column

I'm out of new work again, but this is part of the series of column-like sculptures of Lewis Carroll characters. This was meant to be the Caterpillar, but could just as easily represent the Jabberwock.

Bat-Rat-Spider Head

I attempted to sculpt the bat-rat-spider from Angry Red Planet and got as far as the head, but I couldn't think of a way to make the long, thin spider legs in a way that the head would still be supported. Here is the head without the legs.

Warlock #2

This is a replacement for the warlock sculpture that was damaged by a falling shelf last month. I just wanted to point out that I have several new sculptures being glaze fired this week and not all of them are sequels or replacements. Thank you for your attention.

I got bored with my Living Forgotten Realms warlock character. The 4e powers all have great names but none of them was especially interesting to use. I'm presently playing Jarvix the one-horned Tiefling psion in Darksun Encounters. Thank you again for your attention.

Beholder #3

This is the finished Beholder #3, based on a sculpture made by an unknown child at the pottery studio in imitation of one of my first beholders. I'm not sure what those bumps on the big fangs are supposed to be, but I copied them anyway.










The copy







My original beholder

Butterfly Girl

This is an interpretation of the Butterfly Girl. Sorry about this, kids, but stay tuned; we've got some real good toy commercials coming right up, I swear.

Mouse Column

I'm waiting for new work to get fired. By that I mean for the clay objects to get bisque fired and glaze fired, not for me to get fired. I don't have any opportunities for getting fired at the moment.

These are from a series of column sculptures inspired by Lewis Carroll characters. This is the Mouse with a Sad Tale that Alice meets after falling into the pool of tears, not to be confused with the dormouse, the March Hare, the White Rabbit, or the guinea pigs. Sad Tail not pictured.

"A mouse - of a mouse - to a mouse - a mouse - O mouse!"




I had a mouse infestation at my house. At one point I considered attempting to evoke the Essential Mouse Deity to bargain with it, but it didn't work and the situation devolved into guerrilla warfare. I can imagine them holding a revolutionary victory party after I moved out.
I never actually attempted the evocation because I didn't think the egregore would be helpful even if it the operation was successful. I did get as far as designing the Mouse Pantacle and a mantra using the syllables from Alice's declension of the noun mouse:

Ovamaus Tuamaus Emaus Omaus

Weeping Giraluna

This giraluna has tentacle-like protrusions instead of the usual sharp petals. A few of the protrusions tend to break off every time I move it.

Formless Spawn Progression

This is a sequence of clay objects, based on a drawing of a Formless Spawn from S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters.




Here they are again, looking less like formless spawn and more like lampreys, vaginas dentatas, Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, or the Sarlaac from Return of the Jedi.

New

At one point, I thought that making kanji out of clay might be fun. It wasn't, but I've had this object in a cabinet for about five years and I glazed it rather than throw it out or leave it in the desert.










This is the character for new

as in , the adjective new, atarashii

or , newspaper, shinbun.

Crone Alice and Pig Baby

Another old sculpture saved from oblivion only because I like its face. It's holding a pig baby like Alice in the "Pig and Pepper" chapter.

"By the by, what became of the baby?"
"It turned into a pig."
"I thought it would."
"Did you say pig or fig?"
"I said pig."

More Information

Here's the same picture of my work at Straw House Gallery, altered to give more information than you want or need.

Straw House Gallery

I had six pieces for sale at Straw House Gallery in Amado, AZ. I attended the artists' reception. They had some wine and snacks, a fire, a poetry reading, and a prayer circle. I sold four of my pieces: Nectocaris, Pikaia, Anomalocaris, and Wiwaxia. They sold for $35 each, which comes to $98 after the gallery takes its 30%, which is the most I've ever made from selling sculpture.

Stone-Colored Maggot Atavism

Self-Wrapping Shrieker Atavism

Cthulhu Madonna 3

Eventually, I'm hoping to make an entire Cthulhoid Nativity Scene, but so far, it's just been the Virgin Monstrosity over and over again.

Warthog Column 2

Yes, I Know It Looks Like a Pig

I also started a sculpture of the head of my deceased dog Chiqui. Yes, I know, it looks like a pig.

Copy of a Copy

I made a copy of some kid's copy of my beholder. It still doesn't look as disgusting and nasty as I would like, but it's an improvement over "cute and charming."